Fossil fuel intensive economies such as the Hunter must transition to clean energy as soon as possible to help prevent catastrophic warming, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned.
The panel's latest report found that the world was likely to surpass the ambitious climate target to limit warming to 1.5 degrees above pre industrial temperatures by the early 2030s.
Beyond that threshold, scientists have found climate disasters will become so extreme that people will not be able to adapt.
The report predicts projected carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal and gas infrastructure would exceed the remaining carbon budget for 1.5 degrees.
"IPCC scientists don't mince words on the biggest threat to humanity: continuing to burn fossil fuels," Ani Dasgupta, president and chief executive of the World Resources Institute, said.
"Despite the rapid growth of renewable energy, fossil fuels still account for over 80 per cent of the world's energy and over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions."
On a human level, the scientists warn that the effectiveness of the world's response will determine the extent to which today's children will live in a hotter world.
Under a high-emissions scenario, a child born in 2020 would live in a world that is about 3.5 to 4 degrees hotter than today by the time they are 80-years-old.
The IPCC has reiterated its call for developed countries to phase out coal by 2030.
Liddell Power Station, which is among the country's dirtiest and oldest coal-fired generators, is due to close at the end of next month.
Bayswater power station is due to close between 2030 and 2033 and Eraring power station could close as early as 2025.
Another key part of the solution is the accelerated roll-out of solar and wind energy, wide-scale electrification, urban greening and better energy efficiency.
"The actions to take the world economy to a sustainable, net-zero carbon dioxide pathway are well understood," Professor Frank Jotzo, from the Australian National University and one of the Australian experts who played a leading role in the new report, said.
"Many are already being rolled out, are low-cost, and bring other benefits."
The IPCC climate assessment comes as federal parliament resumes debate over Labor's proposed amendments to the Safeguard Mechanism.
Climate Council director of research Simon Bradshaw says the "unmistakable" central message from the scientists - that the extraction and burning of fossil fuels must stop this decade - must inform decisions on national climate policy.
"If we start giving it our all right now, we can avert the worst of it," Bradshaw says. "So many solutions are readily available, like solar and wind power, storage, electric appliances and clean transport options. We need to get our skates on," he said.
"This is why it's important to get the Safeguard Mechanism right."
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